Arizona lawmaker: Time to end state required education for kids

An Arizona lawmaker is making headlines for statements he made regarding his desire to repeal the state law requiring kids to go to school.

In an interview with Arizona Capital Times published Monday, freshman Republican Rep. Paul Mosley of Lake Havasu City said the "number one" thing he'd like to repeal is the state's law on compulsory education.

"Education used to be a privilege," Mosley told reporter Hank Stephenson. "People used to believe getting an education was something you had to be privileged to get, that you had to work hard to get. Now we basically force it down everybody’s throats."

After telling a story of how he was contacted by a truancy officer after his then-kindergarten-aged son missed 18 days of school -- Mosley said that is why he believed it isn't a "good law" because "schools get their funding on daily attendance."

Mosley went on to say kids who don’t want to be in school are just a distraction to the kids who do.

"We’re telling kids they have to go to school," he said, "and we put fences around the schools to protect them now, and we give them a meal or two and sometimes send a backpack of food home with them."

The Republican lawmaker said he thinks education is still a privilege.

"Now schools are not only tasked with educating our children, but also feeding our children. What happened to the personal responsibility of a parent to feed and educate their kids?"

Mosley said his seven children, who are currently homeschooled, will be placed back into school because "it’s difficult for my wife while I’m gone at the Capitol."

On his website, Mosley says "good quality education is essential in preparing the next generation. I believe that parents understand the needs of their children better than bureaucrats and I am a proponent of education choice."